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China’s air pollution crisis shows no sign of ending as nation fails to lower coal use

January 8, 2017

For weeks northern China has been covered in a thick toxic smog. It is one of the worst episodes of air pollution the country has seen, affecting 460 million people. Coal is the major cause, and will continue to be the country’s biggest source of energy and air pollution. Although billions have been pledged for renewable energy, 200 new coal power plants will be built across the country. For the last month, severe air pollution has choked Beijing and coal is estimated to cause about 40 per cent of the smog in the nation’s capital. Other cities in the north, such as Shijiazhuang, have recorded air quality of 1000 PM2.5. PM2.5 are fine particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter that can lodge in the lungs and get into the bloodstream. The World Health Organisation says anything over 25 PM2.5 as a health hazard. Pollution prompts rare display of anger People are frustrated because air quality was improving in 2016 until coal production ramped up in September to service a mini stimulus package for heavy industries. Cheap coal has powered China’s economic miracle and still provides 70 per cent of the country’s energy. The Government is reluctant to wean itself off coal, fearing unemployment and unrest. In a rare display of anger, China’s rising middle class took to the Chinese social media website “wechat”, demanding the Government take action and protect the children of China. They said the Government’s “war on pollution”, now in its third year, has not delivered…more detail

A 14-year-old girl hanged herself after an argument with her mother, an inquest has heard. Izzy Dix was found dead in Brixham, Devon, on 17 September. Her family and friends blamed cyber-bullying and began a campaign against it. But, the inquest at Torquay Coroner's Office, heard there was "no evidence of cyber bullying". Coroner Ian Arrow recorded a verdict of suicide and said Izzy had "significant personal and emotional turmoil". 'Fundamentally flawed' Police investigated the teenager's death after claims she was bullied on a social media website. Det Con Diane Brugge, from Torbay's child protection unit, told the inquest there…... [read more]

Google has began to offer search users in China suggestions about which words run foul of the country's strict censors. Until now, users who searched for banned or sensitive words received a "webpage not available" message and their connection was temporarily cut. Google will now advise users if they are entering a sensitive word, and let them try and find an alternative. Google's business in China has been held back by censorship issues. The company started redirecting mainland Chinese users to its Hong Kong website in 2010, citing concerns over censorship and hacking. Keywords Google said on its official blog…... [read more]

Street signs: Mutual funds try to cash in on tax saving season Last year, the industry had clocked sales of over Rs 4,400 crore in ELSS during March quarter Last year, the industry had clocked sales of over Rs 4,400 crore in ELSS during March quarter Asset management companies (AMC) are trying to make the most of the ongoing tax-saving season. To attract investors towards their equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS), AMCs have booked top search slots on popular search engines and social media websites. Besides, they are also promoting their schemes on their own websites. Industry players say they expect…... [read more]

How can I make sure that Google knows my content is original? "Google crawls site A every hour and site B once in a day. Site B writes an article, site A copies it changing time stamp. Site A gets crawled first by Googlebot. Whose content is original in Google's eyes and rank highly? If it's A, then how does that do justice to site B?" Kunal Pradhan, Ahmedabad duration: 3:59 published: 05 Apr 2011 updated: 05 Apr 2011 views: 71921 Apple's Plan To Enter Original Content Space | Tech Bet | CNBC Apple plans to create its own TV…... [read more]

MINSK, Belarus (AP) â A noted Ukrainian poet and novelist says he was seized by security agents in the middle of the night while visiting the capital of Belarus and ordered to leave the country. In a posting on a social media website, Serhiy Zhadan said Saturday that police confronted him in his hotel room in Minsk about 2 a.m. Login required We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us. So far we have not found one. If you feel you are currently subscribed please click on the button to attempt to find your…... [read more]

The 52-year-old MEP took to the social media website Twitter to express his delight. He wrote: “I never thought I’d see the day where the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted for Britain to leave the European Union.” The Commons voted 494 to 122 in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. It will now move on to the House of Lords. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was in jubilant moodA small Labour rebellion of just 52 MPs, including 14 from the party’s front bench, ignored a three-line whip from leader Jeremy Corbyn. The motion was passed by a…... [read more]

Organisers of the Women’s March in America, which was the largest demonstration in the country’s history, are holding a general strike, with the date yet to be decided. They called for the strike through posts on different social media websites. And the post read: “General Strike: A Day Without A Woman. Date To Be Announced.” The Women’s March on January 21 was a stand against President Trump’s misogynistic and patriarchal ideas and called on anyone who believes women’s rights are human rights. Millions of people, women and men, across America, came together to protest for equal rights for women. Their…... [read more]

China is establishing a channel to manage President Donald Trump's aggressive posture by establishing links to the president through his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Ivanka Trump won positive reviews in state-run Chinese media after she visited the Chinese embassy in Washington in celebration of the Chinese New Year. During the visit, she shook hands with the Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai. Daughter Arabella wore red, payed with puppets, and participated in the event. Later, she won admirers across the Pacific after her mother released a video of her singing a Chinese a song in Mandarin. Ivanka Trump surprises guests…... [read more]

The Chang'e 3 lunar lander descended to the surface of the Moon in the middle of peak television viewing time, a little after nine o'clock on Saturday evening, amid a fanfare of coverage on CCTV, China's national broadcaster. CCTV reaches almost all this country's 1.4 billion people. There were fancy computer graphics, and animations, of the probe descending to the surface. The animations at least showed a perfect touch-down. BBC China Blog The BBC China blog is where our teams across the country will provide a flavour of their latest insights. We'll focus on the new and newsworthy, but also…... [read more]